


The Giant Hippogriff

by accio_broom



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Care of Magical Creatures, Gen, IWSC | The International Wizarding Schools Championship Writing Challenge, magical mishaps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29159376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accio_broom/pseuds/accio_broom
Summary: IWSC: Hagrid has a magical mishap. Luckily, Luna is on hand to save him from calamity.
Relationships: Rubeus Hagrid & Luna Lovegood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: International Wizarding School Competition - Ilvermorny





	The Giant Hippogriff

**Author's Note:**

> My entry into round 2 of writing school for the International Wizarding Schools Championship Year 3. The challenge was paragraphing.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Hagrid, (Buckbeak) Witherwings or Luna Lovegood, or any other character from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I wish. I could spend all my time writing if I did.
> 
> As per usual, leave me a comment if you enjoyed this, or be constructive if you didn't :-)

"I shouldn'ta done that…"

Hagrid stared up at the giant beast now towering over his hut, regret washing over him.

True, Witherwings looked majestic — his horse-like hind legs reached higher than Hagrid's front door and his eagle wings spread out across the whole of Hagrid's garden.

Absolutely beautiful.

He shifted his eyes, checking left then right, thankful that all the children were inside the school. He didn't have a class until 3, giving him a whole hour to work out how to resolve this mess.

To make matters worse, Hagrid shouldn't even be doing magic. Dumbledore had snapped Hagrid's wand after expelling him from the school, but he had been allowed to keep the remains for emergency use only.

Without a plan, he took a few steps away from his hut in the hope of luring Witherwings into the Forbidden Forest. He usually followed Hagrid like a Crup puppy, but his new size seemed to instil greater confidence in him, and the beast would not budge.

Hagrid wanted to try and push him away, but giant Hippogriffs with eyes at roof level were hard to make contact with, even for a half-giant. Instead, Hagrid picked up the line of roasted rats, but Witherwings plucked them from his hands and swallowed the lot of them whole. Hagrid almost lost a hand as the giant beak dipped towards him.

It was then Hagrid started to panic.

His heart rate increased. His palms turned clammy. He just knew he was going to get caught.

Dread consumed Hagrid, and he didn't notice anyone approach him until a waif-like voice appeared seemingly from nowhere.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Hippogriff this big before. Where did you find him?"

Hagrid turned quickly, surprised to see Luna Lovegood standing behind him, her protuberant eyes looking unblinking up at the beast.

"Uh, hi, uh, Luna. Shouldn't yeh be in class righ' now?" He stuttered. For some reason, he shifted his pink umbrella behind him, as if that would stop him from getting in trouble for what he'd done.

"I'm not all that keen on Professor Snape's potions lessons, so I thought I would come out to the forest and feed the thestrals. I do all my best thinking with them. They bring a kind of peace, don't you agree?"

Hagrid regarded the girl closely. Her blonde, straggly hair drifted way past her waist, and despite the fact she was wearing her school uniform, she had neglected to put on shoes. Luckily, it hadn't rained for a few days, and the grass was dry. Still, lots of things on the ground could hurt you.

"I, uh, I can explain… about Bucky, I mean Witherwings… I mean, the Hippogriff…" said Hagrid, frowning as he stumbled quickly for an excuse. "Yeh see… I just wanted ter see if I could grow his food magically. An' I reckon I misfired on the charm or got it wrong… 'cause all of a sudden he was giant-sized.

"An' yeh know… If McGonagall or Dumbledore were ter find out… I reckon I'd be in trouble… even though I'm used to lookin' after unusual creatures... They won't let me keep 'im… I'm sure of it."

"Why would you want to shrink Witherwings. He looks beautiful just like this."

"Well, I reckon he's probably more dangerous than usual… on account of his large talons an' sharp beak… not ter mention his wings… you get hit wi'h one o' them an' I reckon yer done for."

"I see," Luna agreed, her gaze unshifting from the giant Hippogriff, who was now digging up trenches in the mud and pecking for worms. "Then I think I might be able to help. A simple _Reducio_ will do. But it's a dangerous charm to perform on living things and we usually only practice on objects. It could be deadly…"

Hagrid's heart faltered. Witherwings had been his companion for so long and had survived so much. Nonetheless, he was pretty sure the Headmaster would not be happy to have a giant Hippogriff roaming the forest.

"Alrigh'... I guess yeh better do it…"

"It's such a shame," Luna sighed. "Just think of how quickly you could travel with that wingspan."

She drew her wand from where it was tucked behind her ear, which Hagrid noted amusedly was a strange place to keep it. She chewed on the end of it thoughtfully, as if trying to remember what to do.

She took so long; Hagrid wondered if she had forgotten what she was supposed to be doing.

Finally, Luna drew a right-pointing arrow in the air with her wand. She spoke the charm so softly; it was as if she barely whispered it.

The pair held their breath as the Hippogriff gave a startled look and let out a loud shriek before quickly returning to his original size.

"There we go then, Hagrid. I did not harm him, and Witherwings can go safely back to the forest." She finally turned towards Hagrid, and he could see an excited light glittering in her eyes. "I do like creatures, so if you have any more unusual beings, please send me an owl."

Without waiting for Hagrid to say anything else, she turned and made her way up to the castle. Hagrid watched her go before bowing low to Witherwings.

"Let's get yeh back to yer home before anythin' else happens."


End file.
